Porcellionidae

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Porcellionidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Family: Porcellionidae
Brandt & Ratzeburg, 1831
Genera

Porcellionidae is a terrestrial family of the order Isopoda. The species classified here cannot roll into a ball, as opposed to the species of family Armadillidiidae, which can.

This family contains 530 species in 17 genera, found on every continent except Antarctica.

[edit] Identification

The ventral plate of the thoracic exoskeleton flare out slightly over the legs. This "flare" is called the epimeron. The uropods, antenna-like structures at the back of the specimen, are flattened out and spearlike, and extend beyond the last exoskeletal plate.

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